Bernie Sanders warns of ‘dangerous’ fallout from Hunter pardon
Sen. Bernie Sanders warned Sunday that President Biden’s pardoning of scandal-scarred son Hunter could set a “dangerous” precedent — while urging preemptive pardons for the likes of Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“We can all understand Biden trying to protect his son and his family,” the 83-year-old pol (I-Vt.) told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” But “I think the precedent being set is kind of a dangerous one.
“It was a very wide-open pardon, which could, under different circumstances, lead to problems in terms of future presidents.”
Biden went back on his word and issued a sweeping pardon Dec. 1 to his disgraced 54-year-old son, who had been set to face sentencing later this month for tax and gun crimes.
Not only did the Democratic prez’s highly controversial pardon cover his convict son’s gun and tax charges, it also shields Hunter against any other “offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024.”
A chorus of Democrats have both privately and publicly fretted that Hunter’s “full and unconditional” pardon could pave the way for President-elect Donald Trump to do the same for people — and leave the Dems not being able to rip him.
Trump, 78, has vowed to look at Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioters when it comes to pardons when he takes office next month.
Sanders meanwhile said it might be wise for Biden to very “seriously” consider preemptive pardons — or those issued before probes targeting some people are even started — before he leaves the White House.
White House officials and other Biden allies have reportedly floated the possibility of preemptive pardons for individuals such as Trump critics and ex-COVID-19 czar Dr. Anthony Fauci and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
Sunday NBC anchor Kristen Welker noted how Trump argued that members of the since-defunct House Select Jan. 6 Committee — including Cheney — “should go to jail.” Notably, Trump later clarified that he would not instruct his FBI director to pursue that.
Sanders, speaking about Biden issuing preemptive pardons, said, “I think he might want to consider that very seriously.”
The Vermont lefty called Trump’s initial comment about “jail’ for the Jan. 6 probers “an outrageous statement — this is what authoritarianism is all about.
“You do not arrest elected officials who disagree with you, who undertake an investigation,” Sanders said.
Last week, President Biden also granted pardons and commuted sentences for more than 1,500 individuals, including an official who stole stole $53 million from taxpayers, as well the notorious Kids-for-Cash judge who imprisoned juviniles for money.
Despite his misgivings about Hunter’s pardon, Sanders suggested that it wouldn’t be too much of a blemish on the outgoing president’s legacy.
“I think his legacy is a strong legacy. I think President Biden, on domestic policies, has been perhaps the most progressive president in American history since FDR,” he said.
During the wide-ranging interview, Sanders also did not rule out backing Health and Human Services designee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — whom he commended on food policy but raised concerns over the Kennedy scion’s vaccine skepticism.
Sanders also expressed optimism about working with Trump to raise the minimum wage and opined on controversy over the gunning down of former UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month.
The senator’s colleague and progressive ally, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), had caused a stir when she said, “Violence is never the answer, but people can only be pushed so far.”
Warren later clarified her comments by saying, “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.”
Sanders argued that Warren “obviously understands killing and murder and shooting somebody in the back is totally unacceptable.
“What I think has happened in the last few months is that what you have seen rising up is people’s anger at a health-insurance industry which denies people the health care that they desperately need while [companies] make billions and billions of dollars in profit,” he said.
The Vermont Independent again reiterated that killing is “unacceptable.”
Authorities have identified tech whiz Luigi Mangione, 26, as the suspected assassin. He is believed to have held a grudge against the healthcare industry at least partly because of his own dealings with it over his chronic back pain.
Scores of people had glowed over Mangione online and seemingly sympathized with him. Former Washington Post media journalist Taylor Lorenz has said she takes “joy” in the killing of a healthcare CEO.